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GET WET!. Musselman High School. Before We Begin…. What is runoff water? Why is it bad? What is a rain garden and what does it do? Where is this water supplied from? Why did I choose to do this?. Purpose:.
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GET WET! Musselman High School
Before We Begin… • What is runoff water? Why is it bad? • What is a rain garden and what does it do? • Where is this water supplied from? • Why did I choose to do this?
Purpose: The purpose of my project was to create a rain garden and see if that would effect the quality of the water. I wanted to find out if, by removing invasive materials such as trash and planting native plants, the water quality would improve as set by GLOBE and stream sampling protocol.
Hypothesis I hypothesized that if native flora were planted and invasive materials removed, then the water quality would ultimately improve.
Materials • Buckets • Water testing kit (pH, chlorine, hardness, nitrites, sulfate, etc.) • Plants (native, non-invasive) • People to help with trash cleanup and planting process • Planting utensils such as shovels
Analyze the location • Map the location • Test the water • Research, research, research! • Plan day to clean up area • Test the water (again) • Clean up with MHS Outdoor Club • Test again • Create PowerPoint • Get plants to be planted • Plant with MHS Outdoor Club • Analyze change, pass project on to current HSTA member Procedure
Current Data • April 12,2010 • Free Chlorine- 0.0ppm • pH- 8 • Total alkalinity- 120ppm • Total chlorine- 0ppm • Total hardness- 0ppm • Nitrates- 0ppm • Nitrites- 0ppm • Iron- 0ppm • Copper- 0ppm • Sulfates- 100ppm • Hydrogen Sulfide- 0ppm • Chloride- 500ppm • Temp- 14.4 degrees C • April 19, 2010 • Free Chlorine- 0.0ppm • pH- 8 • Total alkalinity- 0ppm • Total chlorine- 0.2ppm • Total hardness- 0ppm • Nitrates- 0ppm • Nitrites- 0ppm • Iron- 0ppm • Copper- 0ppm • Sulfates- 100ppm • Hydrogen Sulfide- 0.2ppm • Chloride- 400ppm • Temp.- 15.0 degrees C
What does it mean? • Free Chlorine- kills bacteria, algae, pathogens • pH- measure of the acidity/alkalinity of a solution; dissolved H+ ions • Total alkalinity- total concentration of bases in water • Total hardness- sum of the dissolved Ca and Mg ions • Nitrite- a form of nitrogen that kills fish • Nitrate- found in fertilizers • Iron- toxic in large amounts • Copper- toxic in large amounts • Sulfate- sulfur and oxygen; acts as a laxative to animals • Hydrogen sulfide- flammable and poisonous • Chloride- only allowed 250ppm for drinking water; road salt runoff; decreases oxygen and increases salinity
Conclusions Progress in Planting: What plants? When? Who? What I expect… Future Project… • High total alkalinity • High Sulfate • High Chloride • What does this mean?
Bibliography DeMedici, Terra. Telephone interview. 2 Apr. 2010. "How to Design and Construct a Successful Rain Garden." Rain Gardens. 2005. American Rivers. 14 Feb. 2008 <http://www.raingardens.org/docs/rain_garden_factsheet.pdf>. "NATIVE PLANT NURSERIES - West Virginia to Wyoming." Plant Native. 2002. 15 Jan. 2008 <http://www.plantnative.org/nd_wvtowy.htm>. "WATER the Future is Clear." 10,000 Rain Gardens. 2008. Clarity Connect, Inc. 10 Jan. 2008 <http://www.rainkc.com/>. West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. 2006. Department of Natural Resources. 10 Dec. 2007 <http://www.wvdnr.gov/>. West Virginia Native Plant Society. 17 Dec. 2007 <http://www.wvnps.org/>. Weurtonburg, Sara. West Virginia Soil Conservation-Panhandle District, E-Mail interview. Jan.-Apr. 2010. Weurtonburg, Sara. West Virginia Soil Conservation-Panhandle District, Personal interview. 9 Jan. 2010.